How Roman plays were financed


HOW ROMAN PLAYS WERE FINANCED

This article was originally published in A Short History of the Drama. Martha Fletcher Bellinger. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1927. p. 94.

ALL games, sports, plays and spectacles were under the general supervision of an official called ædile, but the production itself was a private affair. In some cases it was purely a business enterprise; at other times it was of the nature of a festival given by a prominent person in order to gain favor with the popular political party. In the latter case, the giver, after gaining permission from the ædile, placed the management of his entertainment in the hands of an agent who got as much money as he was able, both from his client and the public. The permission from the city did not mean either official or monetary support from the state.

Purchase Books on Roman Theatre

Downfall of the Classical Drama - An account of the ignoble end of the Roman drama. The Ignoble Position of Roman Actors - A short study of the unfortunate position of actors in ancient Roman society. The Maxims of Horace - An overview of the Roman critic's rules for dramatic construction. Roman Tragedy - A brief overview of Roman tragic drama. What the Roman Play Was Like - A description of what it would have been like to attend a play in ancient Rome, plus an analysis of the decline of classic drama.